Why is this forum so dead?
Anywho, it’s a good thing I’ve had this question bothering me for a while, mainly because I’ve seen this being mentioned here on a few occasions in the past. I don’t understand why the monsters’ magazine (was it on a magazine?) advertisement makes weight gain seem like a desirable thing when Sulley and Mike poke fun at each other for Sulley practically having his own climate and Mike being told that he “could use the exercise”. It was funny, but if monsters regard health/beauty as the opposite of what humans think it should be, (i.e., thinness, deodorants that don’t smell like old dumpsters) then the monsters’ comments are inconsistent with that idea. That, or the creators just didn’t bother to give it another thought as the movie progressed and just figured the various deodorant names would be fun to stick in there. Do monsters have double-standards on appearances/health? For example, thinness is generally the ideal body image for beauty yet we go on to say that being underweight is unhealthy. But then again, if being large is a positive thing with the monsters, why did Sulley ask “did you lose weight?” instead of “gain” when he walked into the Scare Floor? I realize he did this in an effort to look “casual” (and failed miserably) but if this was meant to be a compliment, then it again contradicted the general idea (based on that magazine ad) that “fat” is viewed as something desirable. Please feel free to tell me that I’m looking too much into it. 
Never thought of that - then again, that’s a good point, and it’s in fact, proven. Remember the ad on the back of Roz’s magazine that advertised gaining weight rather than losing it?
EDIT: Oh wait, you mentioned that. My bad.
As for your forst question, I don’t know. xD
As for your second question, I think that the gaining weight ad was supposed to be a joke, since the magazine Roz was reading was the Glob, a joke on the Globe, a parody-type tabloid. So, in my opinion, being fit is better in the monster world than being fat. Sorta.
That ad is actually the VERY thing I’m referring to in my post. =)
EDIT: Yeah. You saw that. 
They make fun of several things. But inconsistency is something that bothers me to unusual extremities, lol. I just figured this would be something interesting to mull over and would like to have an answer to.
Yeah, I do get bothered by that as well…It’s strange, since Pixar usually pay a stupid amount of attention to detail, but I guess they can’t catch everything.
I would generally go with the idea that being a bigger monster is a good thing in the Monster World’s terms, especially since most of the Scarers are pretty big and as Scarers, they are looked up to. Also, generally, most of the Mons seemed pretty rounded, so I guess it’s just the social norm.
Of course, Mike and Sulley’s banter does go against this, and I can’t think of a reasonable explanation for what they’ve said. Sulley’s ‘lost weight? Or a limb?’ joke only works with losing weight rather than gaining weight (though I guess it’s a possibility that some Mons could have the ability to ‘gain’ limbs, as such…) but yeah, generally it’s going against the grain and the idea that what’s normal in the Monster World is opposite to our world.
Maybe Mike and Sulley are just thick? After all, they’re the only ones that seem to bring up the idea that being thin is better. 
I honestly can’t think of a reasonable explanation, apart from that perhaps Pixar didn’t want to pursue the idea of fat being good as that might send out a bad message to the youth of today or something equally as PC as that.
It’s also very likely that Mike’s making fun of Sulley’s “flab” is just Mike being MIKE, finding SOMETHING that he can use to motivate(manipulate?) his buddy. Mike seems to enjoy finding fault in others and teasing them about it, and a lot of it probably has to do with his own insecurities. He wants to be big and strong, but isn’t, so it’s his way of sort of taking it out on someone who is. Sulley just lets it roll off him like water off a duck’s back, though. You’ll notice that Mike also makes fun of Ted the Giant Chicken, saying “big deal…guy takes two steps, and he’s there” when Sulley tried to point out how “eco-friendly” Ted was by walking to work as opposed to driving(I really, really do not want to know what Ted would drive, if anything). Making fun of the big and tall just seems to be Mike’s thing and does not indicate that monsters in general feel that way.
pitbulllady
Actually, I never made that connection before! That does seem a bit of a double standard, you know, it does seem basically like Mike’s just trying to poke fun at Sully.
Why dead? Well, because most things are explained hehehe. But yes, thankfully those who can come up with questions not put forth yet or the like brings some up.
looks up One thing to not is that there is not a “One” here. Take Humans. We are ALL basically the same in terms of body figure and what not. Yes, there are those extremely tall or…small…but overall, similiar. For Monsters, there are a TON of different forms, and a ton of different “ideal weight”.
Take Sullivan. Being buffed and weighty is probably the desired for Monsters like him. I mean, not so sure, but for Monsters with lots of fure, they tend to get tired easily perhaps, and having a large body with allot of energy is probably what make monsters like him fit.
Now the eyeball. Wazowski’s species probably has little to worry about in the category. They’re more concerned probably about their eyes.
Unsure about Randall’s. I mean, the guy’s thin, but not exactly in perfect health, and I doubt he overlly cares about looking like a “stick–figure-model”.
Monsters are extremely varied, and each of them have their own ideal of what it means to “fit” and what not. And though I do agree Wazowski’s comments on Sullivan’s weight and fitness is “pal-joking”, it can also be because their “fit goals” are very different. Honestly, ANYBODY see Wazowski alone at the gym with big huge strangers? I mean heck, the guy is a coward around Randall, not to say he SHOULDN’T be hehehe, just imagine an aggressor three times his size.
I like Nexas’s idea, and maybe the dude who Sulley was talking to (“Did you lose weight? Or a limb?”) could possibly have had a problem already. Sorry, that was a horrible theory of mine. xD
Thank ya kindly ^_^[/u]
I think that for certain monsters, losing weight is good, and for others, it’s bad.
Because each monster is different, right? So it could be a compliment or an insult, depending on who Sully was talking to.
True true.
No offense to any woman, but the old cliche “do I look fat” must be a HECK of allot harder for different-species marriages
That’s also a possibility. I just hate that there seems to be contradiction everywhere in that movie. They’re monsters and they like everything we don’t–including smelling like a wet dog–right? It was funny at the beginning and the ads were great, but the writers just forgot to maintain that same idea that monsters are attracted by the opposite of what humans are. They should have just ditched the ideas that monsters like icky, smelly things, IMO, and being overweight (which is completely undesirable in our world). At least such an uncanny resemblance to humans would have been surprising and even funnier since monsters have always been made out to be, well, monsters!
By the way, your quote made me smile.
Who knows? Maybe in their world, wet dogs actually smell like perfume…just kidding 
It’s not exactly contradiction, more of a way to show differences between Humans and Mons, as they had come from the same ancestory. Think of some way some animals do things…perhaps being smelly or something is actually attactive in some species.
Good BDD, does. Though not perfume, more like colone, as I don’t think a man of Sullivan’s type would do perfume ^0^
Know what? You’re right. I take back what I said about monsters liking “icky” smells and such. The contradictions in the movie about being fat or thin still stand, but monsters may perceive what we Americans consider to be an “offensive” odor as pleasant. What you said reminded me of a lecture from my professor in my Sensation and Perception class and the discussion of odors. There is no odor that is found to be universally repulsive because different cultures perceive smells differently. For example, most Americans hate the smell of fermented fish sauce whereas Asians find it pleasing and yummy. This could be the same case in odors for monsters. Monsters, Inc. was created by Americans, so they may not have taken into account that smelling like a wet dog (or low tide) may not be as offensive to some individuals. So, bright dot-dasher, your idea may not be as far-off as you think!
I always thought it was desirable that Sulley stay “fit” because of the job he’s in, and that is the reason why Mike’s calling him out on that sometimes. In the real monster world I doubt flabbiness would be a turn off, but considering the amount of Scares the Monsters Inc company had to generate in a day (in Waternoose’s period, anyway,) I’d say it was a necessity that the monsters be fit, so maybe that’s what Mike was getting at there.
So um, what I’m saying is, I think working at Monsters Inc is like the Monster equivalent of being an athlete or something along those lines. Or you at least have to be fairly healthy. And you notice the scare assistants are mostly small and pretty mild looking in comparison.
Although it is still a contradiction, I agree. Especially Mike’s random reactions of disgust when he sees Roz, who is pretty much a fat slug. Although that could just be Mike’s own personal taste there. Like in real life, some people prefer curves, others don’t. Hm.
Yes , that is strange!
Especially since Celia is thin and “pretty” atleast thats how it appears. Otherwise wouldn’t she be thought of as ugly for being thin?
Would’t Roz be beautiful than? Since she is overweight and not very good looking?
It kind of hurts your brain to think about! Certainly an enigma!
Certainly IS confusing. When you think about humans, most go for attrativeness. But in the monster world well…there’s a heck of allot of different things to look for ^0^
I guess monsters have COMPLETELY different cases of “taste” than humans in terms of “Celia vs Roz”. As in they have a much more “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” sense. Or maybe Roz is just pretty for her “species” of monster. (I’d hate to see what the less “attractive” ones look like).